Urbain de Maille-Breze

Urbain de Maille-Breze (1597-13 February 1650) was a Marshal of France during the Thirty Years' War and the Franco-Spanish War, and he was the father of admiral Jean Armand de Maille-Breze and Louis, Grande Conde's wife, Claire-Clemence de Maille-Breze.

Biography
Urbain de Maille-Breze was born to a family of nobility, and he married the sister of Cardinal Richelieu. Possibly owing to this, he was appointed ambassador to Sweden in 1631 (at a time when Sweden was fighting against the Holy Roman Empire in the Thirty Years' War), Marshal of France in 1632, and Viceroy of Catalonia in 1641. In 1635, he conquered Heidelberg and Speyer at the head of the Army of Germany, and he was sent to invade Flanders, with Gaspard III de Coligny assisting him. They were victorious at Les Avins, but they were defeated at Leuven. In 1641, the French conquered Lens from Spain, followde by Aire-sur-la-Lys and Bapaume by the year's end. He died in 1650.